The Beginning of Forever
by sinner316
Summary: A one shot of a night where Jace and Clary make love and contemplate what it really means to love someone, to open up and be vulnerable with one another. I have been working on this on and off and just wanted to get it out there. Leave a review of what you think! Enjoy!


Clary pressed her body closer into Jace's right side, her right leg languidly smoothing over his larger one as she traced her finger around his pectoral muscle. Her eyes followed her finger as it wove intricate patterns, invisible to the eye, twisting and turning at her whim as she mapped every inch of his upper torso. She loved the feeling of his smooth skin beneath her fingertips, not a single strand of hair on his naked torso, just strong, lean muscles that rippled beneath the surface with each change of direction her finger took.

The rhythmic timing of the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed was just as soothing as watching the curving motion of her fingers and nearly had her falling asleep, half draped over his larger figure, but not wanting to miss a single moment of the peace and tranquility of this moment had them both waxing and waning in between wakefulness and sleep.

Clary didn't know what time it was, but the sun had risen enough in the sky that the first of the morning's rays had filtered through the skylight above their bed, the warmth chasing away the cold air from the long night. She could feel her own body's temperature rise, but wouldn't dare move and inch away from Jace, not even if she found herself covered in heavenly fire. These rare and peaceful morning had become something that she often looked forward to as their lives were often chaotic and demanded a great deal of their personal life to be sacrificed for the Greater Good. So, when she found herself wrapped in her lover's embrace and the ability to just _be_, she didn't take it for granted.

Clary lifted her hand to run her fingertips across the sharp edge of his jawline, marveling in the smoothness of something that looked like it could cut diamonds. She had kissed that jawline over and over last night, never getting enough of how smooth it felt against her wet lips. She hadn't missed the way he purred when she gently ran her tongue over the ridge either and secretly delighted in the way he reacted after the fact.

Jace let out a small sigh through his barely parted lips, bringing Clary's eyes to focus on his soft lips. She remembered the way they felt on her skin as he peppered every inch of her with sensual, wet kisses. If there was one thing that drove her wild, it was the way that he made sure that _every inch _of her was marked with his lips. She blushed thinking about some of the places he had let his lips press into, feeling a warm puddle of need beginning to form low in her belly. She rubbed her leg sensuously up and down his stronger leg, her knee coming dangerously close to his soft penis. She wondered how far she could push him before he snapped and took her all over again like he had last night.

Clary lowered her arm back down to his chest, content once more to trace the numerous outlines of the runes that littered his chest. Most of the runes she could name, but there were a fair few that tickled the periphery of her memory. Still, she traced each and every one of them, all of them contributing to the excellent fighter he had been born to be. They were a part of him, just as she was a part of him too.

Clary couldn't help but notice the stark difference in their complexions. Jace's skin was toned with a soft tan that complimented the dark runes that littered his skin, while her fairer complexion made her fewer runes stand out with there thick, black lines.

She smoothed her palm across his chest and felt the rumble of contentment under her hand as she grazed her left pectoral. She smiled up at him from where her head laid on his chest, waiting, selfishly for him to open his eyes. But his eyes remained closed and she took to counting his long, black lashes, each of them casting a shadow over the roundness of his cheeks as his eyes moved back and forth under his lids. Clary briefly wondered if he was dreaming. She hoped it was a happy dream, perhaps with the two of them walking along the beach, hand in hand, or maybe it was a lazy Sunday afternoon enjoying a picnic under the Eiffel Tower.

With that last thought in mind, she tightened her hold on his chest and gave a slight squeeze, hoping that somewhere in his dream-like state he could sense the love between them as she embraced him. She marveled at the powerful muscles they laid dormant under her outstretched arm, save the slightest twitch here and there. However, she knew that he would be on his feet and in a fighting stance in a blink of an eye should he detect even a flicker of danger. It was odd to be so close to someone so lethal and to feel nothing but pure contentment and safety.

Things between them had developed so quickly that words seemed useless between them, leaving only their actions to adequately communicate their love for one another. Clary's favorite moments were when Jace turned his beautiful, blue eyes on her, a thousand words seemingly speaking to her all at once with a simple glance of pure ocean depths. She could feel her soul opening up to him, begging him to swallow her whole whenever she felt his eyes on her. Most people didn't see this side of him; they saw what he allowed them to see- the soldier, the battled hardened leader, but she was the only one to see him with his walls down and it was something that she would never take for granted. She knew the sacrifice and courage it took for him to let him really _see_ inside of him and she would never do anything to disrespect that.

In truth, they were both looking for the same thing in one another: unconditional love. Because words had stopped meaning anything to them but empty platitudes, they had developed their own language through touch just _being _with one another. They would let their eyes speak of love and trust, their hands whisper feelings of humility and admiration, while their bodies sang of acceptance and belonging. It was perhaps the most beautiful thing she had ever been a part of and she cherished it most of all.

Jace burned under the heat of Clary's gaze, scorching trails of fire licking their way over his skin. He could feel the backs of his own eyelids sizzle as she mapped each eyelash resting softly along his cheek and the sizzle along his barely parted lips was enough to nearly send him over the edge in search of water.

Even with the incessant need to open his eyes to look back at her, Jace kept his eyes shut, every muscle in him straining to stay still. He knew that she enjoyed looking at him in the mornings. She had made it a part of her morning ritual to nearly send to his death with just her eyes.

There weren't a lot of people that Jace Herondale would let look at him for this long, especially someone he had spent all night with. Most of the time, he was out and gone by the time the sun rose in the sky, but for Clary Fairchild, he would stay until Hell froze over.

Only his beautiful and strong partner, Clary, was allowed to see him this vulnerable, with his impenetrable walls torn down. She had shown him the unconditional love he hadn't known he had been craving until she gave it to him freely for these last few months and so she had earned the right to see him this way.

Mornings like these were precious and few in the life of Shadowhunters, the demand of their world forcing a man and his wife to prioritize their work above interpersonal relationships, but Jace would battle against the old ways because he knew that Clary deserved better than that. _He _deserved better. Never again would he live a lie and so from that day on, he wouldn't shut his eyes until he knew that he had given all of himself to her.

Jace was roughly pulled into the present by the gentle touch of a finger running along the line of his jaw, the soothing caress sending sparks of electricity from ear to ear. He couldn't stop the curl in his toes as the small finger passed over his nearly parted lips, disappearing from his face just as suddenly as it had appeared. He knew what his lover was doing, all but seeing the small smile pulling at her own plush lips as she watched him from below. His own lips silently replied in the slightest up twitch in the corners of his mouth. He could never truly hide from her, not when it was just the two of them, nothing between them except the heat being exchanged from one naked body to the next.

His heightened senses did miss the slight increase in her breathing, nor the way her small breaths feathered over his chest, making his own body come alive with tiny shiver down every inch of muscle burning beneath his skin. However, he waited, as painful as it was because he didn't want to break the spell they were both under as she mapped every curve with her fingertips and he became washed away under her touch.

But the spell was broken when the little minx gently placed her small palm against his lower belly, gently soothing the rippling muscles beneath as her sweeps dared to slide further and further south driving him mad with lust. He didn't want to break the spell, but he was scared that he would ruin the mood if she went any further, he had no doubt that he would pounce on her any moment if her hand decided to wrap around the very bulge tenting just inches below her hand below the covers.

"Clary Fairchild," he whispered seductively as he turned to place a chaste kiss on the crown of her head, "I had no idea you were such a tease in the mornings."

Jace felt the warmth in her cheeks spread all the way down her neck and stop right at the tops of her perky breasts as she nestled further into his embrace. Her shyness and inexperience intrigued him greatly. Clary had no idea just how much she had him wrapped around each tiny finger and toe she had.

He ran his fingers up and down the length of her upper shoulder as he waited for her reply, no doubt something that would stir him up even further. Truth is, he knew it wouldn't take much at this point. Still, he waited for her, never wanting to push her into anything she wasn't ready for.

"I wouldn't necessarily call it _teasing,_" Clary finally spoke, picking up the gentle swirl of her palm just above his aching cock, which was straining upwards as if begging her hand to graze its hardened form.

"What would you call it then?" Jace asked, thanking his voice for coming out cool and collected and not high pitched and needy as much as he wanted to beg her to touch him. Seriously, where had his ego flown off to?

Jace let the question float between them as he continued to stroke her arm aimlessly, smiling as small patches of goosebumps rose along the paths of his fingers, knowing that he had just as much authority over her bodily reactions as she did his own.

He pulled her closer to him as she snuggled even further, momentarily bewildering Jace at how much further two people could cling to one another. He thought he had read somewhere that two elements of matter could not occupy the same space at once. However, Jace smiled as he remembered that he and Clary had come very close last night to breaking that particular law of physics.

His attention was diverted to her hand slipping below the covers, but then cruelly diverting to the side where she began to massage his right, inner thigh muscle.

"How about," Clary thought out loud, as the back of her hand accidentally grazed along the stiffness of his shaft, causing him to buck his hips.

"How about we call it _exploring."_

Jace exhaled, his breaths becoming choppy as her hand passed over his length again.

"I'd say you already found the jackpot then, baby," he said on a shaky inhale before sliding his own hand beneath the covers and wrapping her smaller one in his. He slowly led her roaming hand to the pulsing shaft just inches to her left, giving her plenty of time to back out, but it seemed her curiosity was also peaked as she let him settle her warm hand over his bulging cock.

He felt her small fingers wrap around his girth and tiny stars began to form behind his eyes, both of his hands falling to the bed sheets beneath them, burying them amongst the cool cotton as he strained beneath her sizzling grip.

"Clary," he choked out as she experimented with the way her hand gripped him, her small nails grazing the underside of his shaft sending his hips flying off the mattress, his heels digging into the mattress as a slight yelp left his lips.

"I can stop," Clary said suddenly, her grip loosening around his weeping cock, "I don't even know if I'm doing this right."

He could hear the uncertainty in her voice and it was enough for his vision to clear and the buzzing in his ears to lessen.

"Don't," Jace said quietly, bringing her hand gently back to rest on him once more, "You're doing beautifully."

Clary turned her head to look at him and smiled as she began to stroke him once more. Jace felt his focus glaze over as he fell under her spell once more, happy to never wake from this dream ever again.

"Do I make you feel good, Jace Herondale," Clary whispered to him as she let her thumb rub against the weeping head of his penis.

"By the Angel," Jace gasped, his toes curling as his eyes squeezed shut, "You make me feel _so good_."

"Good," Clary replied as she brought her hand from his aching cock and settled the warm, wet hand against his left cheek, turning his head so she could see his eyes.

She lifted her smaller body up so that her lips could caress his in a feather light touch, an intimate kiss between lovers. Jace felt her small, rounded breasts pressing into his side, her pointed nipples piercing his sides like tiny, cupid arrows and he suddenly felt the need to feel all of her.

In one fluid movement, using the arm that was stuck under her, he heaved her petite body unto his until their bodies were flush with one another. He heard the small squeal of pleasure leave her lips as her hips settled between his so his erection was nudging her sensitive nub between her legs.

Her mouth opened in a slight "o" shape the moment he let his hips press firmly into her's and he took her brief moment of distraction as his opportunity to draw her into a deep, heated kiss.

Gently trapping her bottom lip with his teeth, he dragged her down to his mouth where she immediately opened up to him, allowing his tongue to effortlessly slide into her warmth, finding her tongue ready and playful as they kissed passionately.

Jace wrapped his strong hands around her delicate curves, bringing her further down onto his bulging cock, not missing the moan of delight that passed from her lips onto his. He slowly moved her hips against his, silently showing her how ready he was for her as the head of his penis rubbed the inside of her legs, occasionally slide across the sensitive nub of nerves that had swollen twice its size.

"I'm ready," he heard her whisper in a raspy tone and he smiled as she kissed her a little harder, one of his hands sliding between her legs to check that she, in fact was ready. He wasn't disappointed when the tips of his fingers were coated in her wetness the moments he let his fingers caress the outside of her labia.

Jace heard the mewl slip her lips and kissed her quickly before turning on his side to place her gently on her back, but a small hand on his chest stopped his movement as he looked into her lust filled eyes.

"I want to be on top," she said, her voice an octave lower that had Jace's heart pounding at the sexiness.

"Are you sure?" Jace whispered as he slid her back into place on top of him, "You don't have to do anything until you're ready."

"I'm ready," she murmured as she began to trail light kisses along his jawline, reminding him of the way her fingers had mapped the same line just minutes earlier and just like before, he felt the gentle brush of her lips against his wet, swollen ones just before they disappeared altogether before he found her green eyes looking down at him.

Jace smiled as he watched the woman he loved stare back at him, he could feel a thousand words being passed between them, a silent acceptance of one another as they were. It was beautiful. It was freeing. It was them.

"You really do love me," Jace whispered as his hand came up to cup her left cheek as his thumb caressed her smooth skin.

Clary leaned into his touch, "I really love you Jace Herondale."

Clary cupped his larger palm in her own and turned her head to place a small kiss at its center before saying, "You have shown me nothing but love, never making me feel like a fool in my curiosity or inexperience as a lover and for that you have given me everything. You have given me acceptance, peace, and love.

Jace's heart seized in his chest, his breath catching in his throat as he stared up at the woman who held his whole world in his tiny palms. He wanted to say something, anything, but was scared his inadequacy would ruin the moment and so he just laid there hoping the love and admiration that was pouring from his eyes looking up at her were somehow doing the talking for him.

Clary must have received his message because the warm smile that lifted her lips was probably the best gift she could ever give him at that moment. Just a moment of pure happiness between them.

Jace was about to say something after the silence between them stretched on for a moment too long as his cock strained forward, but he was stopped when Clary began to move.

He watched her small hand disappear between them and sucked in a gasp of air as her fingers gripped his hardened shaft beneath her. He felt her place his weeping head just on the outside of her own wet opening and his whole body shivered in anticipation. He knew, without a doubt, that he was the luckiest man alive.

Clary felt a moment of hesitation as she gently nestled Jace's large head just inside her vagina. Just that inch or so had her walls stretching within her, both exciting her and causing her doubt at her ability to take control of their intimacy, even now. She pulled the head of his penis out before pushing it back in, begging her body to accept his. She heard Jace let out a moan that travelled all the way up her spine until her head felt dizzy, but she kept her focus on her work.

She worked the first few inches of his cock into her raging heat, fighting the pain as her body clamped hard against the foreign intrusion. She felt Jace tremble under her, aware of the immense torture she was putting him through as she fought for control of her body. The pain was almost unbearable as she continued to slide him further and further into her heat, but she knew that the pain was only temporary. She remembered the way her first night with Jace had gone, the familiar pain of his length sliding into her, but she had watched and felt the immense patience and steady hand that Jace had used to coax her body into accepting him and it had worked. She just had to mimic the same motions and explore her body to cooperate.

Clary inhaled and exhaled, forcing her breathing into a calm pattern as she slid further down Jace's hardened shaft. She could feel the grip around his shaft begin to loosen, but held her body still, not wanting to push her luck and feel the burning pain once more. She allowed her body to get used to his largeness inside and felt a release of her breath once the grip loosened, allowing her to slide down his shaft to the hilt.

Tiny shivers of ecstasy brought a small smile to her face. _Victory._

Jace groaned in need as he felt Clary wiggle her hips on top of his own, trying to find the most comfortable position before their love making. He loved her curiosity and experimentation, but as the ropes of his control began to snap, he knew that he wouldn't be able to hold back for very long.

He felt Clary lean forward, her hand coming to his chest as the rubbed up and down in a soothing caress. He shuddered beneath her and opened his eyes to look up at her.

She was beautiful, her red hair flowing over her shoulders in tiny curls. He loved wrapping them around his fingers and watching them spring back into place just to do it all over again, something that he often did after they both would lay completely spent after making love. Her breasts, pointed and round begging to be plucked and worshipped by him.

His mouth watered as he remembered feeling those soft mounds of flesh beneath his lips, licking a path of wetness from nipple to nipple before swallowing them deep into his mouth. He loved the way her tiny form would arch off the mattress and press herself further into him, begging him to suck a little bit harder or to grip her just an inch higher. She was never quiet in her demands while they laid naked and sweating against each other and the male pride in him never wavered from obeying her every command.

Her body glistened under the dewy sheen of a light layer of sweat, no doubt his own skin peppered with droplets of perspiration as his body heat rose with each moment that passed, but Clary was ethereal in the brightness of her complexion, the little drops of moisture glistening like tiny diamonds along her porcelain skin.

Jace felt a set of wet lips wrap around his own straining nipples and moaned with delight, his hands wrapping around his lover's pert ass, pulling her further up his shaft until he was positive his whole length was buried in her. His lips curled upwards as his fingers slid over a row of small indentations along one of her ass cheeks, remembering the way his sharp teeth sank into her plush, smooth skin like a knife to butter.

He heard and felt a slight pop signaling Clary's wet lips had disengaged from his nipple and he looked at her once more.

"I've always wanted to do that," she said cheekily, running her fingers over his wet nipple, "You taste good, Jace Herondale."

Jace just smiled up at her as he began to lazily drag her form up and down his length, he wouldn't dream of ever separating their forms again. They would just have to learn how to eat, dress and fight demons like this _forever._

At that moment, Jace realized that this woman was _it_ for him. Sure, he knew on some deep, primal level ever since he had seen her at that club that she was it, but it was his ego and his impenetrable walls that kept him from truly admitting it to himself. He wanted to tell her right now, to make her realize just how special she was to him while she looked so beautiful and vulnerable, but he had never been any good with words and so he worried that if he opened his mouth, he would ruin the very delicate mood. Instead, he decided that his actions should show her just how loved she was.

Truthfully, Jace wouldn't know where to even start if he were to tell Clary with his words how he felt. Laying with her, like he was, vulnerable, was an entirely new concept to him and it was a little terrifying, but it was also the most peaceful he had ever felt in his young life. He felt calm and light, not even the demons beyond their door could touch him here, not while he was with Clary, the one who showed him that even someone as broken as he was could be loved. That is why he could be like this with her, because she had shown him that he could trust her with his heart. Always.

Jace was distracted from his thoughts when he felt an odd, but familiar, stroke against his shaft as Clary's body began to receive him, her walls loosening just a fraction for her to slide even more down his length. She was nearly ready for him and the thought nearly clouded every other thought in his head, but he held on to his sanity- he would wait forever if it took that long.

It had not been an easy task for him to convince Clary that she was beautiful, especially in these delicate moments. He always knew that she was a bit shy when it came to intimate moments, but he never realized how insecure she was about her body until it came time to be with one another. At first she was constantly comparing herself to other women, coveting Izzy's long legs, or wishing from fuller breasts like Kaeli, but Jace reminded her that she was perfect the way she was.

He had spent nights worshipping her body, focusing solely on her pleasure no matter how painful his erection was because her body image and happiness was more important to him than a couple minutes of his own pleasure. He wanted to show her that her body was fully capable of experiencing the same amount of pleasure as it was an instrument of love and when played she could sing songs of ecstasy that shook mountains and made the stars fall from the heavens.

Even now, looking at her as she moved on top of him, he marveled at her inability to see her as he did- a goddess whose very light shined so bright that it was hard to look away at times. She was so beautiful and sexy at this moment and she didn't even realize it. She moved in a carnal dance that had been around since the age of man, older than sin, perhaps and somehow she had tapped into that on her own, as if it were coded in her very DNA.

"Jace," came her guttural whisper, pulling him from his trance, "I need your hands on me, I need to feel your touch."

Jace immediately complied, his hands immediately finding her small hips which still moved in a low, gyrating motion. He smoothed his grip up her sides until he came to rest just to the sides of her small breasts, that moved in swaying motion with the rest of her body.

Jace let his thumbs find her pointed, aroused nipples, brushing over their tips and watching as small goosebumps spread along her chest and arms. He heard the slight inhale of her breath and smiled as he let his thumbs pass over her nipples once more.

"More Jace," she exhaled, "I need more."

Jace fully cupped her naked breasts in his hand, massaging them in his palms, mesmerized by their pliancy and how their weight sat perfectly in his grip. He was startled to find tiny indentation on the side of her left breath and was momentarily confused, but flashes of the night before flooded his mind as he remembered the soft feel of her skin against his teeth. Male pride swelled in his chest as he realized he had marked her in this way. It wasn't exactly a possessive mark of ownership, but a mark showing how much he loved her and that she was his to protect, to love and to never let go.

Last night had been a dream, a perfect dream that he wished had never ended. He could still feel the way her nipples pierced his tongue when he sucked her beautifully, sharp peaks into his mouth, sucking on them hard enough that her back arched off the bed as moans of pleasure slipped from her parted lips.

The way that she gripped the sheets beneath her, her groin bucking into his larger frame as he worshipped her breasts with this mouth was enough to put him over the edge at any given moment. He loved leaving small trails of rose-colored marks on her ivory skin, showcasing his love and affection for her. Clary would pout and playfully smack him later for it, but he knew that she secretly loved them too.

Clary would mark him too, the sharpness of her small fingernails left many angry trails of red down his back when their lovemaking took a more passionate turn. In his passion he would feel the burn as she dragged her nails down his back, but when they both finished, he would flop down on the cool sheets and instantly feel the sting along his back as the heat clashed with the sheets. It was beautiful and it was raw passion written into his very skin. He loved it.

Of course he had talked with Clary and made sure that she was okay with such passionate displays, knowing that such acts of marking someone while having sex could get out of hand, but she was very open to the idea and even blushed when she told him she liked seeing the raw marks on his back. They had decided that it was their own way of choosing each other, over and over again, each night. He marveled at how well they were at communicating with one another. Truthfully, it made love making so much more exciting when both partners were open with what they like and what they didn't like. He never wanted this to end. Ever.

Clary tipped her head back and closed her eyes as a moan slipped once more from her lips as Jace massaged her breasts, she could feel her body singing with pleasure as she rocked against his hips.

Each night was the same, yet totally different, when it came to the love and passion she felt from her lover, but now she wanted to give some of that back to him. If she could give Jace even an ounce of pleasure that he gave her every night, she would consider this _exploration_ a success.

Clary felt the familiar loosening of her walls, signaling to her that her body had completed accepted Jace, the pain ebbing away into a slightly satisfying buzz of pleasure. This gave her the confidence to be a little more confident in the way her hips moved against him, remembering the slow, and manipulative moves he had tormented her with the night before.

She was pleased to feel Jace's pleasurable reaction when his hips rose off the bed, pushing him further into her, making them both gasp in pleasure. She loved watching the muscles along his chest ripple under his tanned skin, moving and twitching as his body pulsed with a dark, sensual need that matched her own. She could feel the temperature rise in the room and it only served to heighten her mood further.

Clary moved her hands until the rested on Jace's, which still covered her aching breasts. She pressed them into her chest one last time before she moved them to fit around her small waist, feeling completely safe and loved when his large hands came down to grip her.

Jace smiled up at her with one of his playful grins and arched his hips up as his hands pulled her hips down, burying his penis even further into her, which made her mouth form an "o" shape as tiny mewls fell from her lips.

Clary began to feel a new tightness growing just below her navel as she rocked her hips into her lover, the pace of her strokes becoming more erratic as his shaft slipped in and out of her. She could tell that the impending finish was hurtling towards her, but she couldn't quite figure out how to get them there. She had done all she could at this point. She needed Jace, the only one she would trust to bring her to the finish.

"Take control, Jace," she breathed on an exhale after a wave of pleasure shook her to her very core, "Bring us home."

Jace slowly took the lead, increasing the tempo of his thrusts, careful not to rush the climax that was always boiling just beneath the surface. Too often, he had sacrificed a beautiful ending for mere seconds of pleasure, but the love between him and Clary deserved more than a quick climax- they deserved every ounce of patience he had which would ultimately reward them both with ten times the pleasure at the end.

Jace lifted his torso off the bed so his and Clary's chests were flush with one another, loving the feel of her soft breasts rubbing against him as he breathing became choppy and labored under her growing need for release.

He found the sensitive spot on her throat where her neck met with her shoulder and buried his nose into her, inhaling her flowery scent, a hint of saltiness from her sweat lending her an earthy smell that was all her own. He pulled gently at her hair, exposing more of her neck to him as he lathered her playfully with his tongue, gently applying wet kisses to her secret erogenous zones that only he knew.

He felt her hands in his hair, massaging and tugging as she molded into him with every move that she made. He could feel the climax coming as his balls began to rise until they were flush with his flesh. He knew it was time.

"I love you, Clary," he whispered against her neck before thrusting deep into her, silencing any response of her own. He thrusted two more times and bit down, hard, onto the large chord of her neck and felt her immediate release as hot, wet fluid surrounded him.

He came moments later, thrusting erratically into her to keep the pleasure alive as long as he could, but his energy was spent and Clary's smaller body was already pulsing with aftershocks of her climax.

He gently laid back against the sheets, pulling her with him to rest on his chest as they laid silently with one another, basking in their pleasure.

Jace let his fingers smooth through Clary's long, red curls, the only movement he was capable of, but the softness of her hair between his fingers was like a gently sedative that rocked him into a sweet state of contentment.

Clary's heart clenched in her chest, beating erratically as she felt Jace's fingers smooth through her hair. She marveled at how gentle he could be with her especially after how he had grown up, forged in a deathly fire and built to be an ultimate weapon. All of that was left at the door when it was just the two of them. When they were like this, there were no Shadowhunters, or demons, it was just the two of them, in love, and that was all they needed there to be.

"I love you too," she murmured into his chest before turning to place a gently kiss on his chest. She burrowed into him further, wrapping her arms around him in a strong embrace. Content to just lie here like this forever.

"I never want this to end," she continued as she closed her eyes to the hypnotic feeling of his hands running through her hair.

She looked up at him when he didn't respond and smiled when she saw him looking back at her with love in his eyes. Jace had never been good with his words, but he never failed to let her know exactly how he felt with just a look or a touch.

Clary gently brought her hand to lightly trace the line of his jaw with his fingers, delighting in the tingles of the short hairs that grew along his jaw, but soon she found her hand trapped in a larger one and then she felt soft lips kissing each one of her fingers, sending swarms of butterfly wings into flight in the pit of her stomach.

"It never has to end, Clary," Jace whispered into her palm as he placed a small kiss there. "This is just the beginning."

Clary cupped his cheek with her hand, her thumb gently stroking the soft skin just below his eye.

"I like the sound of that," Clary agreed, smiling up into the loving, blue eyes she was blessed to look into forever. "This is the beginning of forever for us, Jace Herondale."

With that final statement, Clary brought his face down to her's and placed a long, languid kiss against the softness of his lips sealing their fates to one another.

_Forever._


End file.
